Kinkaku-ji

Be honest with yourself about this one. The Golden Pavilion, its top two floors covered in gold leaf, really is dazzling across its pond, but you view it from across the water and then follow the garden path past it with everyone else, and you cannot go inside. The building you see was rebuilt in 1955 after a monk set the original on fire in 1950. It opens at 9:00, so be at the gate then for the clearest view across the water, give it half an hour, and save your lingering for Ryoan-ji, which opens an hour earlier and is close enough to visit first.